A child’s phone can be a classroom, a playground and a shop window, all in one device. But it can also expose children to scammers, cyberbullies and individuals seeking to exploit them online.
Recognising the need to equip adults with the knowledge and tools to protect children in today’s digital world, Mobile Web Ghana organised a hands-on workshop titled Protecting Our Children Online: Cybersecurity Guide for Parents & Educators.
The workshop brought together parents and educators, particularly teachers from schools across Kwabenya, Dome, Taifa, Atomic Hills, Abokobi, Ashongman, Agbogba and Haatso. The session focused on practical ways to identify online threats, strengthen digital safety and guide children towards responsible internet use.
What Participants Learnt
The workshop covered essential cybersecurity knowledge and practical skills that parents and educators can apply both at home and in the classroom.
Key learning areas included:
- Recognising Online Threats: Understanding risks such as cyberbullying, online grooming, sextortion, scams, malware, oversharing and excessive screen time.
- Protecting Children’s Devices: Using Google Family Link to manage screen time, bedtimes and app restrictions.
- Strengthening Online Privacy: Adjusting WhatsApp privacy settings, managing app permissions and securing personal information.
- Promoting Safer Browsing: Using YouTube Kids, supervised accounts and Google SafeSearch to create safer online experiences.
- Identifying Scams: Recognising suspicious messages, fraudulent prize notifications, unusual links and requests for personal information, passwords, PINs and OTPs.
- Understanding AI and Digital Footprints: Learning how images, voices and videos can be manipulated and why sensitive personal information should not be shared with AI tools.
- Responding to Online Harm: Knowing how to support children who experience online threats by listening without blame, preserving evidence, blocking and reporting suspicious accounts, and seeking appropriate support.
The practical sessions allowed participants to explore these settings on their own devices, making the lessons easier to understand and apply.
Connecting Educators to Opportunities at American Corner Agbogba
As part of the session, Estella Anaman, Coordinator of American Corner Agbogba, introduced participants to the resources, learning opportunities and services available at the American Corner.
She took participants through the various resources offered by American Corner Agbogba, highlighting how the space supports learning, digital literacy, access to information and personal development.
The session provided an opportunity for educators to discover how they can make use of the Corner’s resources to support their professional growth and extend learning opportunities to their students and school communities.
The Multiplying Effect: Taking Cybersecurity Knowledge to the Classroom
We were honoured to have the Director of Mobile Web Ghana -Madam Florence Toffa engage with participants and speak about the wider impact of the capacity-building initiative.
One important realisation from the discussion was the multiplying effect of investing in teachers. Each teacher has the opportunity to reach at least 75 students in their classroom. This means that the knowledge and skills gained by every participating teacher can extend far beyond the workshop, reaching hundreds of children through classroom engagement and knowledge-sharing.
The Director encouraged participants to return to their respective schools and put their newly acquired knowledge into practice. She emphasised the importance of making a meaningful contribution to the lives of their students by applying what they had learnt and sharing the knowledge with colleagues.
The goal is not simply to train educators but to empower them to become advocates for safer digital environments within their schools and communities.
Taking the Lessons Beyond the Workshop
Protecting children online requires more than technology. It takes awareness, consistent guidance and collaboration between parents, educators and communities.
Through initiatives such as this, The U.S Embassy Ghana and Mobile Web Ghana through American Corner Agbogba continues to support educators with relevant digital skills and practical knowledge they can transfer to the next generation.
The real impact of this workshop will be seen not only in what participants learnt but also in how they apply that knowledge in their schools, engage their colleagues and help children navigate the digital world more safely.
Interested in attending similar workshops ?
Call 053 9928 389, email info@mobilewebghana.org or visit www.mobilewebghana.org.
